Not As Much
by Bear-Bell
Summary: Sasuke wonders what exactly it is about Naruto that he doesn't like. AU.


**A/N: Hey, all! Well, here's something new for you. Just a quick one-shot about Sasuke and Naruto. Also, this is AU, fyi. Enoy!**

He was loud, and he wore bright colors, but that wasn't it. His jokes were tasteless, and his pranks were childish, but they were tolerable. He never thought before speaking or acting, and he was too dumb for his impulsive actions to end well. While this was highly irritating, it wasn't what made Sasuke dislike Naruto.

_I'm going to be Hokage one day_.

Their fights were petty, and when Naruto bore down on Sasuke with his voice and his eyes and his over-exaggerated movements, the arguments felt very one-sided (Sasuke only had to _glance_ at Naruto to set him off). Still, all that energy didn't cause any damage, and it made training lively, if nothing else. When he was especially irritated, Sasuke sometimes wished Shino or Shikamaru, or even Hinata were his teammates. But then he thought of how _boring_ missions would be, and it was already difficult to commit time for wasting with Team 7.

_They'll all know my name, and they'll all acknowledge me._

Naruto was everywhere at once. During training, his fist was coming towards Sasuke's face, but his attention was on Sakura or Kakashi or the bowl of ramen he intended to eat at the end of the day. His lack of concentration made his work sloppy, and Sasuke was the one who had to counteract and ultimately _fix_ the messes Naruto made (Sasuke wished there was a rug big enough to sweep the boy under). Yet, Sasuke had grown used to this.

_I'm going to be the strongest shinobi there ever was. _

Even when Team 7 wasn't training together, Naruto was there. His cries and shouts echoed through alleys, and his laughter rang over rooftops. His eyes were in every inch of sky, and there were flashes of his orange in curtains, or on posters, or in flowerbeds. Naruto was reflected in every aspect of Konoha, from the Hokage Monuments to an uneven cobblestone Naruto tripped over _every time_ he walked the path. And if Naruto escaped Sasuke's thoughts for even a moment, then the bruises he had received from training would pulse, reminding Sasuke that Naruto still managed to get in one good hit, and Sasuke couldn't always dodge him. It was a frustrating indication that Sasuke spent far too much time with the loudmouth, but it wasn't enough reason for Sasuke to dislike Naruto.

_Believe it!_

Sasuke didn't _like_ that Naruto became as powerful as Sasuke, and he wasn't _happy_ when Naruto was able to keep up with him as they trained. In fact, it was frustrating and maddening and contrary to basic laws of nature. However, Sasuke recognized that without Naruto, there wouldn't be anyone to challenge him or push him to grow stronger more quickly, so he didn't _dislike_ Naruto's strength, either.

It wasn't Naruto's ever-present smile, or his obnoxious energy, or his dumb luck, or even his ambition which made Sasuke dislike Naruto. No, it was the brat's _confidence_.

After only a few months of training with Naruto, the word_ believe_ made Sasuke's skin itch, no matter who the word was mumbled by and in what context.

It was smothering, Naruto's constant demands for attention. Sasuke made the mistake as setting himself up as the person responsible for beating Naruto down when he got too mouthy, and it was an exhausting job.

_Dead last._

Witnessing Naruto's confidence was like being hit over the face with a large orange bat (the impact occurring several times every few minuets), except there was no physical pain involved. Some sort of bruise or scar would have been preferable to Naruto's _Believe it!_ At least then it would be _obvious_ why the blond was so annoying and why his constant declarations of a bright future sometimes left aches in people's chests.

It was okay, at first. During missions, in training, when the danger was obvious and overwhelming, Naruto's hesitation was refreshing. Sasuke felt good when Naruto's eyes widened in fear or shock. Sasuke liked watching for that moment when Naruto stilled, when his muscles grew tense, and his lips parted from breathlessness. Sasuke recognized that it was cruel, but he liked seeing the fear in Naruto's face.

But then, as most shinobi do, Naruto became accustomed to facing impossible situations. He was surprised so many times that any new twists to a situation or any revealed tricks no longer phased him. The extremes in their shinobi lives were so extreme that impossible situations no longer existed, and if the odds weren't stacked against them, then it wasn't a fun fight. The fear disappeared, and if Naruto hesitated it was only because he was dumb and didn't immediately know what to do.

_Tch, idiot_.

After a time, Sasuke grew comfortable with the inane chatter. He learned to roll his eyes and hide his grins at Naruto's lame jokes and outrageous pranks. He developed a taste for quality ramen, as did Sakura and Kakashi_, _and orange didn't seem like such a blinding color anymore.

_What would you know Sasuke-bastard? I'll beat them all!__  
_

But the confidence, the gloating, those cocky grins, and the constant, unending, unquestionable _belief_ Naruto had in himself made the hair on Sasuke's neck stand on end.

_Because I'm the best!_

During training, Naruto didn't appear to be making any more progress than Sasuke and Sakura. But then, on missions, Naruto started pulling tricks from behind his back. He gave a sharp-toothed grin as he easily proved to be stronger than an opponent, or quicker than an opponent, and sometimes even maddeningly more clever than an opponent.

_Never underestimate me_.

But that was _fine_. They were supposed to become stronger, and Sasuke was honestly glad when Naruto proved that he could take care of himself. Sasuke was glad when it became obvious that the idiot boy wouldn't always ruin their missions. Sasuke was relieved when he realized that Naruto wouldn't always bring the team down.

Yet still, something in Sasuke's chest tightened when he saw Naruto's proud smile and heard his boisterous laugh.

_Told you so! And when I we fight, I'll beat you, too!_

It was Sasuke's job to knock Naruto down a few pegs. However, Sasuke found himself snapping at Naruto instead of delivering the calm, low blows which were required to throw the boy off balance. Naruto responded violently to harsh language, but he calmed to a simmer when spoken to with a quiet, sharp tongue. Sasuke _knew_ that. But how could Sasuke insult Naruto when everything had been working out so well for the boy?

_I'll break every bone in your body if that's what it takes_.

Sasuke left the Leaf.

Life after leaving Konoha seemed… surreal. Sasuke immersed himself in training, and he lived with dark, dangerous people like Orochimaru and Kabuto. Candlelight reflected off of Kabuto's glasses, and Orochimaru's eyes seemed empty and lifeless no matter what skin he wore. But when Sasuke looked up at the sky, the blue was unmistakable and it made his skin itch and the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

_I don't go back on my word_.

They met sporadically and sometimes even briefly, but their interactions kept Sasuke unbalanced. Every new time their eyes met, Sasuke recognized that Naruto was astoundingly different, yet unchanged. He grew more powerful, he grew more graceful, and he grew more intelligent. Yet he was exactly as Sasuke remembered him, his eyes and his smile and his curled fists unwavering. Naruto was growing fast, and Sasuke worked hard to _crush_ him, to annihilate him. Yet Sasuke fell easily into old patterns, their fists meeting and the blows reflecting something only they could understand. They said words others coulnd't understand and threw hurtful jibes to each other which didn't really hurt at all.

Sasuke didn't respond well to such internal conflict, and he avoided emotion and self-speculation. But it was difficult not to look at the sky, and _belief_ is a common word.

_I'll take you back to Konoha_.

Sasuke wanted to see fear. He'd seen it before. He'd seen Naruto's hesitation. And he wanted it back. He wanted to _hurt_ Naruto, to rub his face in the dirt.

Yet, the sky really is a beautiful thing. When someone lived in dark places as Sasuke did, it seemed strange that such a vibrant color could encompass everything above.

Sasuke wasn't an idiot. He was stubborn, yes, and his willfulness made it _years_ before he recognized what his real goals were. It was _years_ before he understood why Naruto's confidence drove him to distraction.

When they next met, Sasuke was unnecessarily violent towards Naruto, and he was unnecessarily cruel to Naruto's friends. But he wanted to see Naruto stumble. He wanted to see Naruto pause. He wanted to see Naruto's eyes widen and his mouth fall open. But dispite Sasuke's whims, it was all unnecessary. After all, Sasuke knew how it would end. He had always known.

"What?"

At the hitch in Naruto's voice, Sasuke gathered what energy he had left, and he looked up.

"Aren't you going to…" Naruto's voice trailed off. His hand twitched, and his weight shifted as if he didn't know whether to drop to the ground, adopt a defensive position, or simply flee, flee as Naruto never had before.

"No," Sasuke answered.

"That… That's it?" Naruto asked, his brow furrowing from confusion.

"Yes."

Naruto blinked. Then, his eyes widened and his mouth opened in breathless shock. The pressure in Sasuke's chest was considerably lessened (After all, Naruto's human, too).

There was little fuss as Sasuke was taken back to Konoha, and it was in Konaha that he gladly stayed.

A long time latter, Kakashi said, "You know, there's something I never understood." The words were more or less a confession that the man had been worrying over the matter for years, probably since Naruto had dragged Sasuke back into the village. It had only taken Kakashi that long to man up and admit that there was indeed something about his students which had slipped his notice.

"What's that?" Sasuke asked with disinterest.

"Why leave?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke was powerful, but it had long ago been established that he wasn't after power; he was after his brother's head. It had also been established that he could have eventually gained enough power to kill his brother if he had stayed in Konoha, and leaving only ensured that he obtained that strength a little faster. These facts were common knowledge, but Kakashi was the first to question him.

"I was stubborn," Sasuke finally answered, even though Kakashi couldn't know that Sasuke wasn't referring to his pursuit of power, but was instead referring to Naruto.

"It felt like I was being eaten alive, and I was sure that I could find relief on my own."

Kakashi hummed. "I didn't know Naruto's progress affected you so strongly."

Sasuke wasn't _really_ surprised that Kakashi had pieced a bit of it together.

"You know, you're just as impulsive as Naruto is," Kakashi said slowly. "So Naruto was having a few good days. That didn't mean you had to leave. You would have had good days, too."

Sasuke shook his head. "No."

"Hum?" Kakashi murmured.

"Every day is a good day for Naruto," Sasuke told Kakashi, his voice bitter. "Or haven't you noticed? I couldn't stand up to that. Nobody can."

Because it was the way Naruto spoke about his future, it was the look in his eyes when he declared he would be best. He was unwavering in his assurance, and he stood down to no one, nothing. For Naruto, there was never any doubt.

It was what Sasuke hated about Naruto, because there had always been _some_ doubt, _some _fear in the back of Sasuke's mind. _What if_, Sasuke sometimes wondered. _Maybe_… He never said it out loud, and the thought was never more than a wisp at the edge of his conscious, but it was there. It nagged, then turned into doubt, and he began to mistrust himself and the people around him.

Except for Naruto, because he _never _went back on his word_. Never_.

Naruto's confidence still irritated Sasuke. It was something Sasuke didn't have and something he desperately craved, that _relief_, that peace of mind one could only have when it was _known_ that everything would turn out right.

Sasuke was secure of himself and of his ability, but he had _never_ possessed that assured confidence. Luckily, though, he was friends with Naruto. Sasuke may not believe, but Naruto did. And nothing could stop Naruto. After all, he was the best.

**A/N: How was it? I know I have this nasty habit of oversimplifying stuff like emotions and relationships, but I tried not to beat you over the head with it. **

**Sorry for any mistakes; I posted this after writing it, and it was a bit too fresh while I was trying to edit. Still, I hope you enjoyed it. Review and tell me what you think!  
**


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